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Flipped Flop: Fresh Spaeztle and Chicken Soup
Cooking can be very frustrating when things don’t work out as planned. Last week I was so excited about finding fresh cranberry beans at my local market I had to pick some up. Along with that I picked up some kielbasa, a chicken, and some basics: onions, carrots, celery, herbs etc. It was unseasonably cool, [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 5 so far )Carbon Steel Fry Pans, Oh Yes I Do!
Non-stick pans skeeve me out. Teflon and other high tech coatings may be relatively harmless, but only up to a certain temperature, at which point they start to give off toxic gases. I also haven’t met a non-stick pan that doesn’t scratch or peel, whatever promises they make. So then you have to replace it [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 9 so far )Linguine with Chorizo & Clams
Wednesday is my Sunday. It’s the only day of the week that I’m sure to be off from work ,and usually all I want to do is relax at home with my cat asleep on my lap, or run around the park with Sadie. So lately, we’ve just been ordering in or eating at someplace [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Char Siu & Chinese Broccoli with Budding Chives
Chinese Style BBQ Roast Pork I have a confession to make. Despite my Asian heritage, I don’t know much about cooking Asian food. Sure, I know how to stir-fry and know how to use the more common Asian ingredients, but Mom’s home cooking was nothing like restaurant food. After years of cooking for myself, then [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 4 so far )Dear Readers
I started Have Knives, Will Cook in August of 2008, after taking a huge leap of faith and leaving a 10-year career in architecture to attend culinary school. I had just begun my first kitchen job, and was embarking on what seemed to me an exciting adventure which I wanted to document and share. So [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Lazy Holiday
Boyfriend and Sadie making their way to the beach Ahh, three days off in a row. Thanks to the restaurant being closed for Christmas, I was able to spend an idyllic holiday with my man at his parents’ home in Rhode Island. After loading some much needed laundry into the pickup truck, Boyfriend, Sadie (now [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )The Importance of Being…Inspired
Oh a busy busy busy bee is me! I know it’s been months since my last post, but between having a new puppy, caring for old cats, resolving yet another car accident (not my fault, I wasn’t even in the car), my novice attempts at gardening, and the demands of the restaurant, I don’t know [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Lemon Cucumber & Tomato Salad
My zucchini plants keeled over last week. I had so much hope for them, cared for them, and resisted eating the flowers so that they could produce fruit. Alas, after battling off fungus gnats, aphids, and even maggots, it was stem rot that finally did them in. I stared sadly at the orange fungus that [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 5 so far )Call me Cookie
Mike*, one of our garde manger cooks just took a few days off to help his girlfriend move from Syracuse to Brooklyn. When Mike returned, Javier, the Spanish-speaking pastry cook greeted him with a loud and enthusiastic “Cookie! We missed you Cookie!” The sous-chef turned to me and asked, “Why do you guys call him [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Watching the Garden Grow
Yes, outside of working a lot, all I’ve been up to these days is obsessing over my plants. It’s hypnotic, relaxing and exciting all at the same time. Every morning before work I tend to my little urban garden – watering if necessary, and cleaning up any dried leaves and flowers. Afterward, I leave the [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Zen and the Art of Staff Meal
One of the most difficult tasks in a professional kitchen is the minimization of waste and the effective practice of kitchen economy. The french term garde manger literally means “keep to eat.” In a kitchen it is the station where a beginning cook usually starts, and is responsible for all the cold preparations, such as [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Greenest Fava Beans Ever!
Fava beans, corn, tomatoes…all foods that remind us (in the northeast at least) that summer is just around the corner. For the first time, I used the revered Thomas Keller’s method of cooking fava beens – shuck first, then cook. I first read about it in his interviews in Michael Ruhlman’s Soul of a Chef, [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )April Showers
I had two days off this week – two rainy days. Since I’ve started a little vegetable garden, I am actually appreciating the rainy days. Why? Well, the sunny windowsill in my apartment is getting a little overcrowded with seedlings now and the bigger ones just need to get outdoors. Overcast, slightly rainy days are [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 2 so far )Getting Ready for St. Patrick’s Day
Okay friends, if you’re going to cure your own brisket for St. Patrick’s day Corned Beef and Cabbage, you need to start TODAY. That baby needs at least 5 days of salt-curing before even going into the pot. I may not be of Irish descent, but one of the great things about growing up in [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )A Taste of Mexico: Braised Pork Belly Tacos
I’ve been getting quite the education on Mexican food and culture at work, since many of the kitchen staff and runners are from Mexico. Every Sunday, during their break between brunch and dinner, one of the runners picks up tacos and tortas from a nearby Mexican joint for the staff. My favorite is carnitas, or [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Learning to Love Queens: Flushing
I got into a car accident a little over a month ago, which left the driver’s side of my vehicle pretty banged up. The repairs were just completed, so I went to pick up my car at the collision shop in Queens. When I got there, I found they still needed to make some adjustments [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Pies Please
My friend Christine is an avid home baker. We met a few years ago when her husband and I were working at the same firm. His desk was next to mine, and he would regularly rave about her cakes, shortbread, and pies – particularly her peach pie. She recently confided in me that she used [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )T minus 16 Hours and Counting…
Well, I headed it off as long as I could, but I knew at some point I would have to work brunch. I’m not much of a morning person. OK, I am NOT a morning person. On a normal day, I barely manage to drag myself out of bed by 10 a.m. Then I putt [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Home Creamery
It’s been bitterly cold for more than a week now. How cold? Well, let’s just say it got warm enough to snow the other day. It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to stay indoors, curled up in a sunny room with a good book. It just so happens I’ve been curled up [...]
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Oh, for the Love of Pig!
So we have a new sous chef at work. He saw a video on You Tube of Chris Consentino making Porchetta di Testa, and wanted to try it at the restaurant. What is porchetta di testa? Well it is basically a pig’s head that is boned out, marinated, then rolled up, tied, and wrapped, then [...]
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